Disaster Risk Management

Disaster Risk Reduction is one of the main responsibilities of the Human Resources and Sustainable Development Directorate in ECO Secretariat since its establishment in 2006.

ECO Vision:
ECO Member States are located in a disaster prone area. During the last decade there has been an increase in the number of natural disasters in the ECO Region. Frequent happening of high casualty earthquakes and floods in the Region and also serious drought affect the economic development and welfare of the people of the Region. In this regard, the issue of disaster risk reduction and public awareness raising are very vital and important for the Region. Reducing the civilian casualties and human losses on one hand and minimizing property damage on the other hand are the most immediate goals of the ECO and the Secretariat is going to address those concerns though utilizing regional and international experiences through multi-faceted cooperation.

ECO Mission:
In order to address disasters and conduct the activities in this regard, ECO Secretariat has the following policies and programmes:
A- Promote regional cooperation in the field of natural disasters management and risk reduction through raising awareness about the threat of natural disasters, aggravated by the impacts of climate change to the human life, economy and food security of the Member States,
B- Strengthen national capacities through holding conferences, seminars, workshops and training courses,
C- Exchange information, knowledge and best practices as well as experts, instructors and trainers,
D- Enhance cooperation on Disaster Risk Reduction with the relevant international/regional organizations and the UN Specialized bodies specially UNISDR, UNESCAP, UNOCHA and UN-HABITAT for their technical and financial support towards the activities of ECO Secretariat in this regard.
ECO-s Activities:
Understanding the regional implications of disasters, ECO Secretariat has undertaken different initiatives to address the issue as follows:
1- Organizing 7 annual ECO International Conferences on Disaster Risk Management from 2006 to 2014 in Turkey, Pakistan, Iran, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Afghanistan and Azerbaijan respectively,
2- Signing MOU between ECO and UNISDR, UNESCAP,
3- Closed cooperation with UNISDR, UNESCAP, UNOCHA, UN-Habitat and regional organizations on disaster risk reduction,
4- Organizing several workshops, seminars and symposiums in collaboration with the United Nations Agencies on Disaster Risk Reduction as follows:
آ· Workshop on “Legal Framework of Humanitarian Assistance” (Tehran, Iran, 18-20 November 2007);
آ· Workshop on “the Global Assessment Report on disaster risk reduction in the ECO Region” (Tehran, Iran, 1-2 July, 2008);
آ· Seminar on “Hospitals Safe from Disasters in ECO Countries” (Tehran, Iran, 14 July, 2008);
آ· Workshop on ‘Water and Sanitation Facilities on Disaster Situations’ , (Kish Island, Iran, 30th May to 1st June 2011);
آ· Workshop on ‘The State of the ECO-region Cities: Urban Resilience for Cities at risk 2013-2015’, (Tehran, ECO Secretariat, 19th November, 2012);
آ· Symposium on “Disaster Economics”,(Istanbul, Turkey, 3-5 April 2013).

Specialized Agency:
ECO Regional Center for Risk Management of Natural Disasters (ECO-RCRM)
Based on decision of the 3rd ECO Ministerial Meeting on Agriculture (Tehran, March 07, 2007) and 17th Meeting of the ECO Council of Ministers (COM) (Herat, Afghanistan, October 20, 2007), ECO Member States established the ECO Regional Center for Risk Management of Natural Disasters, (ECO-RCRM) as a specialized agency of the ECO, for the purpose of conducting the functions and discharging the responsibilities in disaster area.